Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

Pages

Friday, September 30, 2016

Luke 24:17-24

Luke 24:17-24

And He said to them, “What are these words
that you are throwing around with one another while walking around?” And they stood fast, dejected. And the one named Cleopas answered, saying,
“You alone are a stranger to Jerusalem and you did not know the things that
became in there on this day?” And He
said to them, “What sort of things?” And
they said to Him, “These things regarding Jesus of Nazareth, who became a
powerful man and prophet in work and word in the estimation of God and all the
people, how the high priests and our officials handed Him over into a judgment
of death, and how they crucified Him. And we were hoping that He was the one
who was about to release Israel for a ransom.
But indeed even with all this it is this third day from when this
became. But even some women out of us
astonished us after coming at daybreak upon the tomb. And after not finding his body they came
while also saying to have seen a vision of angels, who were saying for Him to
live. And some of the ones with us went
out upon the tomb and found similarly just as even the women said. And they did not see Him.

Thoughts
for Today

First Thought:

Jesus plays a little coy here. Jesus asks the disciples what they are
talking about. When they respond, Jesus
asks them specifically what they are talking about. Of course Jesus knows what they are talking
about. He is God, He knows
everything. He was also there, living it
out. So if Jesus knows what they are
talking about, then what is He up to in this passage? Jesus is giving the disciples some time to
express themselves and process. He’s
giving them some time to show their character to themselves. He’s giving them time to get comfortable in
who they are in the events of what has happened. Jesus is willing to play a humbler role and
allow the gifts of the disciples to rise to the surface.

What can we learn in this passage about how God works? What does this say about how much God
understands humanity and what makes us work?

Second Thought:

Look at the confession of the disciples. They call Jesus a powerful man who is a
prophet. They confess that the religious
authorities didn’t like Him, had Him arrested, and then had Him killed. They confess that they were hoping that He
would be the Messiah. Think about the
context. From their perspective, this is
a complete stranger in their midst. They
don’t have to so much in favor of Jesus, especially with this stranger. However, they are. Even though Jesus was crucified, they still
speak about Jesus with affirming words.
They aren’t embarrassed that Jesus was arrested and crucified. They declare what happened with confidence.

What can we learn hear about these disciples? If you were three days following the
crucifixion of Jesus, would you be so willing to speak so highly of Him knowing
that He had just been crucified?

Third Thought:

Finally, these disciples confess that
Jesus was unable to be found. In fact, they
confess that women went to the tomb, met some angels, and they were told that
Jesus was alive. Talk about quite a story
to tell a stranger! This actually takes
guts to confess, because on the surface this story seems absolutely
absurd. However, this really shows the
courage and faith of these disciples.
They aren’t ashamed of the story.
They aren’t ashamed of how people will hear their story. They speak what they believe to be true,
allowing this stranger in their midst to reach his own conclusion about what
they say.

Do you think you could talk about the
resurrection of someone you knew was dead to a complete stranger? What does this part of the story reveal to us
about the character of these disciples?